"Eh?"
Kushina's question was so pinpoint-accurate that Hagoromo found himself speechless.
In truth, before they even started this, Hagoromo never entertained the fantasy that they'd get away with it. The nature of this act was severe—it was the theft of national secrets, and not just any secrets, but the most classified documents in existence.
Even if they had used Transformation Jutsu, successfully infiltrated without alerting a soul, and escaped undetected, the Hokage would have traced it back to them eventually. In that light, walking in through the front door was practically a "pre-emptive confession." Plus, a perfect stealth infiltration was realistically impossible anyway.
Hagoromo had approached this mission with the stoic, heroic spirit of someone prepared to "serve life in prison."
"...Forget it. We've come too far to turn back now," Kushina muttered, reaching the conclusion herself without needing Hagoromo to weigh in.
"This scroll is protected by seals. An ordinary person opening it would trigger a trap... wait, no, this isn't a seal. What is this? A curse? Or..."
Kushina didn't rush to unfurl the Scroll of Seals. Instead, she began meticulously analyzing the protective layer on the outside of the cylinder.
"Whatever, it won't stop me."
"Release!"
As the saying goes, "One is All, All is One." For a Sealing Master like Kushina, most barriers were transparent. It was a qualitative leap in understanding that few could reach. Hagoromo had learned many seals from her—and in terms of pure volume, he knew quite a lot—but he was still miles away from being able to apply them with her level of fluid intuition.
The moment the seal broke, Kushina rolled the scroll open across the floor and hissed, "Quick! Look! Memorize as much as you can!"
Hagoromo didn't need a second invitation. His eyes practically glowed as they scanned the forbidden text.
If you asked what jutsu he was most interested in, the first would be the Space-Time technique, Flying Raijin. However... he skipped it.
Yes, he skipped it. A technique as powerful, complex, and theoretically dense as Flying Raijin was an S-rank beast. Hagoromo didn't expect to record it in a single sitting. No one knew when the Hokage would discover them; he couldn't afford to dump all his time into one move. He had to burn these patterns into his brain—no paper notes allowed.
His tactical caution proved to be entirely justified.
The moment Kushina cracked the seal on the scroll, miles away at the Sarutobi estate, the sleeping Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, bolted upright in bed.
"Hiruzen, what is it?" his wife asked, startled awake beside him.
"Someone has tampered with the seal on the Scroll of Seals!"
As he spoke, he was already dressing at lightning speed. He sprinted out of the bedroom.
"Lord Hokage!" An Anbu appeared before him the moment he stepped outside.
"Mobilize everyone immediately. Surround the Hokage's Office Building."
"Yes! ...Lord Third, has something happened?"
"Don't ask questions! Just do it!"
Hiruzen rushed toward the office, his mind racing. At this moment, he felt a profound lack in his repertoire. If only he had a remote monitoring jutsu—something like a witch's crystal ball—he could see what was happening instead of flying blind, knowing only that the scroll had been opened. He made a mental note to invent such a technique later. He'd call it the Telescope Jutsu. It would be perfect for village security... and, occasionally, for "monitoring" other things.
Clad in his battle gear, the Third Hokage leapt across the rooftops of Konoha, his personal Anbu guard trailing him like shadows. In less than ten minutes, the building was surrounded.
Inside the office, Kushina suddenly spoke. "Hagoromo, we're surrounded."
"I know, Kushina-sensei," Hagoromo replied. His sensory skills weren't on her level, but you didn't need to be a sensory ninja to feel the sudden arrival of dozens of elite presences. Still, his eyes never left the scroll. Every second count. In these last two minutes, he might squeeze in one more jutsu.
The commotion outside alerted the standard guards within the building. One ninja rushed out, relaxing only when he saw the Third Hokage leading the charge.
"Lord Hokage! Has something happened?"
Hiruzen gave him a look. That's my line. "Has anyone entered my office recently?"
Since the perimeter guards hadn't been killed, Hiruzen felt a flicker of relief. The scroll likely hadn't been taken yet.
"Well... Lady Kushina arrived not long ago," the ninja replied, confused by the massive mobilization.
"Kushina?!" Hearing that name, Hiruzen felt a mix of "I should have known" and "Thank goodness." If it was Kushina, it was likely a reckless curiosity rather than an enemy infiltration. It was better she saw it than a spy, but this was still a massive breach of protocol.
"Has she left?"
"No, she's been here for less than twenty minutes. She hasn't come out yet."
Hiruzen didn't bother replying. He walked into the building. Since he knew the "culprit" was Kushina, he only brought two Anbu inside with him. He climbed to the third floor and pushed the office door open without hesitation.
The first thing he saw were the four unconscious Anbu on the floor. Then, he saw Hagoromo, practically face-down on the Scroll of Seals. Finally, his gaze landed on Kushina.
"Uh, Lord Third..." Kushina gave a sheepish, awkward smile. "It's late. Have you had dinner yet?"
Status Check: The Hokage has caught you red-handed. Literally. You are currently leaning over the village's most forbidden secrets while four of his elite guards are napping on the floor.